SLSA (State Legal Service Authority) to launch scheme to rehabilitate drug addicts in Uttarakhand :

1. The chief justice of Uttarakhand High Court will be launching an initiative to eradicate drug and alcohol abuse in the State through the ‘Sankalp Nashamukt Devbhoomi’ scheme. The scheme is an initiative of Uttarakhand’s State Legal Service Authority (SLSA), under which paralegal volunteers will be detaining people who are addicts or are selling drugs to others.  
2. The idea is to target every person who is a peddler or an addict. For this they have established a constitution task force which is combined effort of judicial and administrative officers along with police to make a reforming task force.
3. This team will include, one member of Deputy Superintendent of Police rank, two sub-inspectors from police department one male and one female, judicial secretary of District Legal Service Authority (DLSA), one member from forest department, one from revenue department, one member of a rehabilitation centre and one person from a non-governmental organisation.
4. These actions will be taken further in two phases. In the first phase will be giving counselling to the addicts and sending the dealers behind the bars.
5.  The counselling team will include one professional counsellor, one clinical psychologist, one doctor, one judicial officer and one police personnel. In the second phase  will provide treatment for those addicts who require medical attention. In Dehradun will be conducting this scheme as a pilot project.
6. SLSA  have already conducted a survey and research at the possible places where  could have found the young children and other possible addicts.
7. At present there is no Government drug rehabilitation centre available here so are working in a flexible manner with the already established drug rehabilitation centres. SLSA will personally be ensuring to make sure that the facilities they provide are up to the mark.

About State Legal Services Authority :

Article – 39A of the Constitution of India speaks for Equal Justice and Free Legal Aid. It states that “The State shall secure that the operation of the legal system promotes justice, on a basis of equal opportunity, and shall, in particular, provide free legal aid, by suitable legislation or schemes or in any other way, to ensure that opportunities for securing justice are not denied to any citizen by reason of economic or other disabilities.”

To fulfill this mandate of Article 39-A of the Constitution and establishing a nation-wide network for providing free and comprehensive legal services to the weaker sections of the society and also to secure and promote the philosophy of justice to all, the Legal Services Authorities Act was enacted in the year 1987. 

The Uttarakhand State Legal Services Authority was constituted on March 20, 2002 under Section 6 of the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987. The establishment of the Uttarakhand State Legal Services Authority is temporarily being run from the High Court premises, Nainital. Hon’ble the Chief Justice of the Uttarakhand High Court is the Patron-in-Chief, while Hon’ble Senior Judge, of the Uttarakhand High Court is the Executive Chairman of the State Authority. A person belonging to the Uttarakhand Higher Judicial Service, not lower in rank than that of a District Judge, functions as the Member Secretary of the State Authority, to exercise such powers and perform such duties, as may be prescribed by the Government or as may be assigned to him by the Executive Chairman of the Authority.

Statutory Functions of Authority :

• To provide free legal aid & service of free Advocates to the eligible masses.
•  To organise Lok Adalats for providing the efficacious, inexpensive and expeditious justice to all.
• To give a fertile focus to the policies of Central Authority (NALSA) under the joint auspices of High Court Legal Services Committee, District Legal Services Authorities & Tehsil Legal Services Committees.
• To augment the wide legal awareness amongst the flouted public at large through Legal Literacy & legal aid camps and make them aware about their rights and duties.
• To ensure that motto “Access to Justice for All” is made accessible to the poor and oblivious masses.
• To organize Symposiums, Seminars, Conferences in order to settle disputes as well as to make the people aware about legal system.